Monday, July 16, 2012

Controlling a computer with your eyes

Forwarded by Katie Kirby. Who also adds that the source article can be accessed free for 30 days after publication by creating an account with the Journal of Neural Engineering.Thank you Katie

Device Lets Disabled Control PC With Eyes

AAP, Herald Sun, July
13,

Engineers say they have built a cheap
device that lets disabled people control a computer with just their eyes. The
gadget comprises two video-game cameras, costing less than $A10 apiece,
attached outside the line of vision to a pair of ordinary glasses, reported the
team from Imperial College London.

The cameras relay the eye's movements
to an ordinary computer, wirelessly or via USB, and use one watt of power Test
subjects control a cursor on a screen just like a computer mouse, it was
reported in the Journal of Neural Engineering

"We have achieved two things: we
have built a 3D eye tracking system hundreds of times cheaper than commercial
systems and used it to build a real-time brain machine interface," said
co-author Aldo Faisal.

"This is frugal innovation;
developing smarter software and piggy-backing existing hardware to create
devices that can help people worldwide ..."It also allowed patients to
interact more smoothly and more quickly than more expensive technologies that
require electrode implants in the brain.

"...by using mass-produced video
game hardware, it is possible to produce an ultra-low-cost binocular
eye-tracker with comparable performance to commercial systems, yet 800 times
cheaper," the researchers wrote. The technology offers hope for restoring
some level of independence to people who do not have use of their hands.

Other low-cost eye-tracking systems
developed in the past had much lower performance, they added, while
commercial-grade systems mainly used in research cost more than $20,000.

The researchers said they solved the
problem of involuntary blinking in controlling the computer. Many systems use a
blink to represent a mouse click, but the team calibrated their system to work
on a single-eyed wink instead.

They were also able to calibrate how
far into the distance their subjects were looking, holding promise for future
applications that may allow people to control an electronic wheelchair simply
by looking at where they want to go.